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[2017 Challenge] Retro Vaders 2 Dev Log

So it's 2017, and as part of [Tulrog's 2017 Challenge](http://www.kongregate.com/forums/4/topics/694738) i'm going to be finishing development on Retro Vaders 2, and posting updates and progress right here along the way.
Along with these weekly updates i've commited to (atleast) 2 hours of development per week, which doesn't seem like much but that's whilst juggling 2 jobs and hopefully some kind of social life.
Latest Demo Link: http://www.fastswf.com/lGG647U (Last Updated 06/02/17 - Week 6)
-----------------------------
**Week #1 (Week Commencing: 01/01/2017)**
This week's 2 hours has begun with taking stock of the state the game is currently in. As the project began in 2014 and has sat in a state of partial development for the best part of 3 years i've had to begin by looking over all the code and seeing what is actually complete and what isn't.
It was actually quite a nice surprise and i'd done more than I remembered.
The original Retro Vaders had 3 Blasters which players could choose between:
* The Sniper Blaster - A fast blaster which fired a single high speed bullet
* The Spread Blaster - A slow firing blaster which fired a wide spread of bullets
* The Rapid Blaster - This was intended to be a balance of the other two and act as the middle ground, but ultimately ended up being the most powerful blaster, and therefore the only one that people used.
For the sequel I wanted to add some new blasters, whilst improving (and in the case of the Rapid blaster, rebalancing it) the existing ones. As you can see from the image below, the actual designs were already complete and the core shooting for each one is done.
![](http://i.imgur.com/rR8Swsx.png)
Obviously the original 3 Blasters have had a graphical redesign, and we've got the 3 new blasters which can be unlocked during the game, each with a shooting mechanic which changes up gameplay significantly:
* The Seeker Blaster - This blaster fires slow moving bullets which will home in on a target vader once close enough. Although incredibly accurate it has a very slow fire rate meaning that players will have to make every shot count.
* The Bounce Blaster - Splicing in a bit of Breakout/Arkanoid gameplay, the Bounce Blaster fires projectiles which will bounce off the walls and roof, the Blaster itself and of course the Vaders (after damaging them).
* The Zapper Blaster - This blaster harnesses the power of lightning to make missing the target almost impossible. When fired it launches of a single bolt of lightning which travels instantly, either hitting a target or colliding harmlessly with the top of the screen.
So i'm happy with how all of my blasters work, but I think gameplay will get a little repetitive when using the same blaster for multiple missions. That's why I've decided to add a special ability/alt fire ability for each blaster, and that's what i'll be working on this week.
**Planned Dev Work For This Week:**
Add Special Ability for each Blaster, which is charged up by killing vaders. Each special ability will require a large amount of charge meaning they will likely only be able to fully charged and used once or twice per mission making it important for players to time it right. The Planned abilities are listed below.
Sniper Blaster
* Hypershot - The Sniper Blaster will launch a single super-dense projectile which will pierece through all (non-boss) vaders it hits, destroying them instantly regardless of their armour level.
Spread Blaster
* Shock and Awe - The Spread Blaster launches a wide cone of projectiles capable of hitting most of the screen.
Rapid Blaster
* Overload - The Rapid Blaster gains a massively increased fire rate and will automatically shoot it's projectiles for a few seconds
Seeker Blaster
* Missile Swarm - The Seeker Blaster launches a swarm of homing projectiles at once which damage a large number of vaders at once.
Bounce Blaster
* Projectile Pulse - The Bounce Blaster causes each Bounce Projectile to explode, damaging any vaders within the blast radius. The player is then free to launch additional projectiles and continue bouncing them.
Zapper Blaster
* Thunderstorm - The Zapper Blaster unleases multiple bolts of lightning in a screen wide thunderstorm attack, dealing 1 damage to every single (non-boss) vader on screen.
Once the special abilities are done i'll post a demo for people to play and give me some feedback on them..
**Progress Updates**
* Got the Sniper Blaster's Hypershot ability working :D
* Changed the Spread Blaster's special ability to an EMP Burst, since firing a wall of bullets is it's normal abilty, the original ability (a large cone of bullets) didn't really seem that impressive. Given the large size and slow speed of the Spread Blaster, I decided an EMP type effect (destroys all enemy bullets and stuns the vaders fpr a few seconds) was a better idea. So the EMP Burst ability is now working.
* Rapid Blaster's Overclock ability working
* Seeker Blaster's Seeker Swarm ability is done

> *Originally posted by **[Tulrog](/forums/4/topics/696237?page=1#10941397)**:*
> Sooo... looks like yor challenge will be over in week 2. :D
>
> Maybe you could post a short overview of the remaining things that need to be done?
>
A non-comprehensive list of things still to be done:
* 25/30 Missions consisting of multiple waves each still to be made
* Upgrade system (probably the next major task/milestone)
* Inclusion of plot/story elements into the missions
* 10 Challenges (similar to missions but with a modifier such as a set blaster or set shield to use)
* 3 additional bosses (2/5 currently done)
* Many many awards/achievements to add
* Saving/loading data to a shared object
* Music/Sound Effects - Hopefully some custom music tracks for the boss battles and stuff.
* Infinite Mode - A survival style mode with endless random waves
* Highscores
* Lots of playtesting and balancing.
* Numerous additional things i've forgotten.
The saving and loading data task alone will be massive considering how much still will need to be saved... and that's before the awards/achievements need to be saved too.
So yeah, definitely won't be done by the end of week 2 haha.

Wow, this will be a fun report to follow. I haven't played Retro Vaders, but the first thing when I have the free time is to play that. Once this is done, I'll definitely play this one too. It seems like you have most your design and plan all worked out so hopefully everything works well at the end. I'm sensing this sequel will be a big success too! :)

As promised, [here is a demo](http://www.fastswf.com/kHsyq-U) so people can test the new blasters and their special abilities. You will be able to play the first 5 missions of Story Mode and also play Retro Mode if you feel inclined to do so.
Right Click (when using Mouse Mode) or Z (in Keyboard Mode) to activate the special abilities.
For the special abilities I have set them all to 15 Vader kills needed to charge them up, but that's just temporary for testing purposes to let people see them all without too much effort. Feedback would be appreciated.
EDIT - Updated the link with a new one (fixed a bug with the UI not displaying the charge properly)

Le Feedback
I'll post it in the same way as I experienced the game. So some of the points will become obsolate once you are done reading. But it should give you an insight from the player's perspective. Before I get started: I really like the game idea but I focus on the parts which need improvement. So don't get a negative picture of your game. ;)
* Not sure if this was a problem on my side (slow internet) but it is always nice to have a loading screen before the game starts. Especially with bigger games you never know if the game is just loading or if it is broken.
* Story mode should dive right into the fun. People are very impantient these days. You could add a *skipable* and *short* picture based intro though. Your game cries for some funny story setup.
* As for the Mission 1 tutorial: too much text. I'd be surprised if anyone doesn't know space invaders. And you explained the controls already a screen ago in a cool way. As a rule of the thumb do as little explaining as necessary. Instead make a ? button in the corner where the players can read up informations/ instructions on demand. Focus on explaining things that are new to the kind of game you have.
* If you make a game that can be played entirely without the mouse, you should be also able to navigate outside of the game without the mouse. For example you need the mouse to click "Start Mission".
* Having "Setup Screen" in the tutorial feels somewhat out of place to me. Why would I want to go into the game options menu right now?
* Having different colors as indication of shield strength is an interesting concept. But the color choice is counter intuitive. It starts with red which is usualy the color of danger. It's hard to tell how much power is left in a shield.
* Once again. If I beat a level my expectation as a player is to have *easy* access to the next one. This means more keyboard and less menus.
* Having to go through a tutorial again just because I want to replay the first level is a sin to me. :D
* There is a hyper shot which wasn't explained. If I'm not supposed to use it in the first level it shouldn't show up. Confusing. Or maybe it was and I missed it?
* Same for CRDS. I guess those are credits (as in currency)? Also you might want to use a sysmbol instead if you want to keep it short.
* I can shoot through my shield? That's new and *should* be explained somewhere. In the original space invaders you would damage your protection.
* There is no way to abort a mission and get back to the menu?
* I died and nothing happened after my death. With the point above this means I have to reload the game. Please put this point high up into your priority list. Otherwise playtesting might be a pain.
* Would be nice to have some sort of indication which clickable parts of the game are still under construction. Maybe use some different color? This is a help for you too. This way you won't miss accidently some feature.
* Ooooh... setup screen isn't about the game screen. It's about your blaster and your shield. This needs either a different name and/ or some visual clues.
* Setup screen could use some sort of help that explains what those versions of the blaster and shield do. Especially for me as someone who is not a native speaker not all options are clear by name alone. To be more precise: Zapper Blaster and Rebound Shields.
* The sniper blaster might not be the best standard choice for the first mission. It's really slow and I had to let the last vader come down very low before I was able to hit it. Rule #1 of game making: Don't frustrate your player within the first minutes.
I'll stop at this point.These should be enough things to think about for the moment. From my first impression the game feels somewhat "heavyweight". I hope I can explain that better during the next weeks. But the good news is that the concept is a very good one. With the right polish this game could be really fun to play.
Hope that helps. :)

Quick Reponses to some of your feedback:
Preloader:
There is a preloader already in the game, it might not currently be working correctly i'll check but it seemed to be working for me last time I loaded the game in a browser.
General:
* I agree the menu system is a little clunky right now, i'm going to try and reduce the number of menu screens needed before release but I wanted something working first.
* Mouse Control is the main/preferred mode of controlling the blaster so the game can't (and isn't intended to be played) "without a mouse", Keyboard is just an optional control style to match the Space Invaders gameplay.
Tutorial Stuff
* I assume you only played the first mission, since the second mission introduces new types of blaster and shields, and would have taught you about changing them using the setup screen. Because of this, the Screen option is meant to be locked during the first mission meaning it gets unlocked when it's time to learn about it.
* Being able to shoot through shields is only new to you because you've never played the first game, there is actually a type of shield in the game that behaves like the old Space Invader shields but the normal shields allow your bullets to pass through, simply because it's more fun that way.
* Granted it's a little difficult to get your head around at first, but once you do it makes things easier, i'm expecting players to figure that out themselves either by trying to shoot through a shield or when an enemy bullet hits a shield and it behaves differently.
* Hypershot won't be available at the start, the special abilities will be unlocked when that particular blaster is upgraded for the first time, but since I was asking for feedback about those abilities specifically I wanted them to be as easy as possible to access. Once the upgrades system is in place, there will be a dedicated part explaining the special ability as it is unlocked to teach players about it.
* The Bounce, Seeker and Zapper Blaster will also initially be locked as well, and are unlocked by completing a challenge mission where you get taught how to use them in the mission intro, and then use them during the challenge so you will learn what they do as you unlock/play with them.
Bugs:
* Gameover/Mission Failure should already be working as far as I know, or atleast there should be a default "Game Over" screen appearing. Which mission were you playing when it didn't appear?
EDIT - Any suggestions what I could call the "Setup Screen" instead?.

As for setup screen how about something in the direction of *Base* or *Station*?
Jjust for your orientation: I've played the first two missions and used the sniper, spread(?) and the one that has two balls in breakout style. Don't remember the name. Probably bounce. Didn't switchthe shields. Haven't played the original and I'm using Chrome.
Ignore the bugs for now. I'll recheck them when I find the time.
Just one remark on the mouse vs keyboard thing. Keep the people in mind which use a laptop without an external mouse. Those will almost certainly play with keyboard. Controlling an object with the touchpad is doable. But shooting with the mouse button at the same time is a pain. Don't want to go into detail since this isn't important (right now).
I'll have to take a look at the rest at some other time. Especially the breakout thing was a very pleasant surprise and I'm looking forward to the rest. :)

**Week #2 (Week Commencing: 08/01/2017)**
Well I managed to survive the first week and meet my target goal of getting the special ability of each blaster working. For this week's task i'm going to focus on the upgrade system to allow players to purchase the various upgrades available using in the game "credits" they earn for killing enemies.
Each of the Blasters has 2 types of upgrades available, and there will be an additional upgrade allowing players to increase the number of "lives" they have per a mission to complete it.
**Planned Dev Work For This Week:**
Upgrades Screen:
* A screen to display all of the relevant upgrades and their costs, etc
Blaster Upgrades:
* Blaster Level - Changes the basic appearance and the mechanics of the blaster (such as adding an additional gun barrel, etc)
* Spectrum Level - Changes the "power" of the projectiles fired by the blaster, increasing the damage they deal.
* Obviously I have to add both of these upgrades for each blaster.
Lives Upgrade:
* Players will begin with 3 Blasters/Lives per mission and can increase it by +1 each time (to a maximum of 5 lives) by purchasing this upgrade.
**------------------------------------------------**
**Progress Updates:**
Got the basic design for my Upgrades Screen done.
![](https://puu.sh/tgBsA/7f368524fa.png)
As you can see from the screenshot, I decided to add some Shield upgrades too, so each type of shield will have 3 upgrades which makes them better. In most cases it wil be a reduction in deployment cost for the first 2 upgrades and a shield improvement as the final upgrade.
Basic Shields:
* Upgrade #1 - Decreases Deployment cost from 250 to 200 Credits
* Upgrade #2 - Further Decreases Deployment Cost to 150 Credits
* Upgrade #3 - Each shield can block an additional projectile (for a total of 5)
Retro Shields:
* Upgrade #1 - Decreases Deployment cost from 150 to 125 Credits
* Upgrade #2 - Further Decreases Deployment Cost From 125 to 100 Credits
* Upgrade #3 - Further Decreases Deployment Cost From 100 to 50 Credits
Wide Shield:
* Upgrade #1 - Decreases Deployment cost from 200 to 150 Credits
* Upgrade #2 - Further Decreases Deployment Cost From 150 to 100 Credits
* Upgrade #3 - Increases the "Invulnerability Time" For the Wide Shield from 0.5 seconds to 1 second (This is time during which any projectiles which hit the shield are destroyed without using up a charge)
Rebound Shields:
* Upgrade #1 - Decreases Deployment cost from 200 to 150 Credits
* Upgrade #2 - Further Decreases Deployment Cost From 150 to 100 Credits
* Upgrade #3 - Not sure about this one yet
Recharge Shields:
* Upgrade #1 - Decreases Deployment cost from 250 to 200 Credits
* Upgrade #2 - Increases the Recharge Speed of the Shields
* Upgrade #3 - Shields start with an additional charge (2 charges instead of 1)

And then instead of what I was supposed to be doing I got distracted (probably not for the last time this year) and coded a Wave Creator/Editor instead. If anyone is interested you can check it out [here](http://www.fastswf.com/vDdalKk), but the data it outputs won't be much use to anyone without the game's source to stick it in.

A couple of days later and i'm back on track;
* Blaster and Spectrum Upgrades for the Sniper Blaster Done.
* Blaster and Spectrum Upgrades for the Spread Blaster Done.
* Blaster and Spectrum Upgrades for the Rapid Blaster Done.
* Blaster and Spectrum Upgrades for the Bounce Blaster Done.

Could you put the demo link for the most recent version at the bottom of your first post? Less searching for people who want to give you feedback.
***
* Preloader seems to work correctly. Hard to tell since I'm using "fast" internet at the moment.
* In the setup menu: Shouldn't the selected shield have also a yellow frame?
* The response to dying is definitely bugged. I played on the second level, lost all my lives and now there is the level screen as before just without me, my shields and the enemies.
That's it from me for this week. Just wanted to take another look at the unclear points from last time.

> *Originally posted by **[Tulrog](/forums/4/topics/696237?page=1#10965492)**:*
> Could you put the demo link for the most recent version at the bottom of your first post? Less searching for people who want to give you feedback.
>
> ***
>
> * Preloader seems to work correctly. Hard to tell since I'm using "fast" internet at the moment.
> * In the setup menu: Shouldn't the selected shield have also a yellow frame?
> * The response to dying is definitely bugged. I played on the second level, lost all my lives and now there is the level screen as before just without me, my shields and the enemies.
>
> That's it from me for this week. Just wanted to take another look at the unclear points from last time.
Great Idea about the latest demo link, will add that next time I upload a demo.
Selected shield should have a frame yes, will check that thanks.
Will also double check what's going on with dying.
EDIT:
---------------------------------------
Ok, so my progress for this week wasn't as much as I would have liked, mostly because my job got in the way, but I finally finished the Zapper Blaster's upgrades too. So I got all of the blaster upgrades working. I think i'm going to push the Extra Lives and Shield Upgrades over to next week's task.
Fixed a few of the bugs Tulrog spotted too:
* Selected Shield not having a frame (Basic Shield one wasn't showing properly - Fixed)
* Fixed the preloader as he correctly spotted (i'd forgotten to set the export settings correctly for the preloader to work)
[Try it out here](http://www.fastswf.com/J_X8WFY)

Some more remarks:
* Started with 100k credits. Also credits can get lower than 0,
* If you upgrade something it should be auto selected for the next fight.
* Z key is not optimal for QWERTZ keyboards.
* Award: Combat Ready? What does that mean?
* I was hoping the Spectrum upgrade would allow you to kill more than one enemy. This could be something for the final upgrade of each weapon. The final upgrade for anything should be something really great which is different from the other upgrades.
* Hyper shot should cover a larger area. First time I missed completely and the second time I hit only 2 out of 5 because the enemies were already moving fast. Compare this to the swarm special which is mayhem.
* Spread seems overpowered. At least in the early levels. Maybe it gets harder later on.
* Game crahed on lvl 4 for me. It was like a normal level but without enemies. And I couldn't move.
* Wow. Did I say spread is op? Rapid blaster is completely op. With max upgrades and auto fire levels will be over in a blink.
* What does explode do? The effect area seems to be small.
* No objections to max zap.

Well my progress report for this week is going to be very lackluster. I had very little time to work on the game at all, barely hitting my 2 hours minimum dev time and all I actually got done was some of the popup screens for a couple of the shield upgrades (Basic Shields, Retro Shields and Wide Shield), didn't even get chance to code them up to get the upgrades actually working.
So I guess that task carries across to this week and I hope I can move onto something better afterwards too.
Whilst i'm here, i'll just respond to you Tulrog (thanks for the continued feedback by the way, it is appreciated):
* 100K credits was for testing purposes, there should be a check to stop players spending credits they don't have, any chance you remember which upgrade it was that went into minus credits?
* Whilst I can see the appeal of autoselecting the last thing you upgraded, I still think it's easier to remember what Blaster the player last used, both options have benefits and could be considered "best behaviour", but I think in most cases it will seem more intuitive if the player comes back to the same blaster they left selected rather than it "changing without knowing why".
* I can probably look at moving the special ability key to a different one, i'm used to QWERTY keyboards so I wasn't aware there was an issue until now. Whereabouts is X in your keyboard? I was trying to aim for a key which is midway between both "Move" options (AWSD and Arrow Keys) so it's accessible for both.
* Depending where you saw it, it sounds like it might be some kind of prototype code for the awards system (maybe I started coding that at some point?)
* Spectrum allowing bullets to kill multiple enemies would make it far too OP, as you've already seen from the Spread and Rapid Blaster, the sheer amount of bullets they can produce means that enemies die pretty quick anyway.
* I can probably speed up the movement speed of the Hypershot to make it easier to hit enemies, and might consider making the projectile itself a little larger. One key thing to consider though is that although the Seeker Blaster is pre-unlocked right now, it will actually be an unlockable blaster which the player must expend some considerable effort to unlock (completing the required story mission progress and then completing the challenge mission to unlock it), so obviously the unlockable blasters are meant to be slightly more powerful/impressive than the starting ones.
* Spread probably is still OP, i'll probably slow down it's movement speed a little at higher levels, the main downside so it is meant to be the inability to quickly dodge lots of bullets, however in early missions the low level vaders don't shoot often. Once you get Red Vaders or even Black ones which are much more trigger happy it will be a lot harder to kill them before they kill you. But the feedback that it needs toning down is good, because the Spread and Rapid Blasters ended up being OP in RV1 and i'd like to avoid that here.
* Mission 4 is basically an empty mission right now, it doesn't have any waves linked up to it to spawn (apparently I got overexcited and made the first boss on Mission 5 before I made Mission 4) so it throws an error inside Flash too, more than likely it just handles that during runtime by displaying the empty screen you see.
* Detonate/Explode probably just needs better VFX, but basically it causes all of the Bouncing Projeciles to explode and damage any Vaders nearby to them, the area of effect is actually larger than the VFX implies but I need to tweak the particle system in order to add some better VFX for it (the Particles are currently moving too slow/fading too quickly to accurately represent the area of effect).

> Well my progress report for this week is going to be very lackluster.
The most important thing is you are making progress. And that's something to be proud of. :)
> there should be a check to stop players spending credits they don't have, any chance you remember which upgrade it was that went into minus credits
From what I can see that doesn't matter. Simply keep buying upgrades and you'll run into negative amounts.
> Whereabouts is X in your keyboard?
Wikipedia has a cool [layout picture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KB_Germany.svg). That's just the German version but the general setup seems to be the same for [all](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QWERTZ) the QWERTZ keyboards.
> so obviously the unlockable blasters are meant to be slightly more powerful/impressive than the starting ones.
That makes sense. Would have to test the balance under realistic requirements to form a better opinion. I guess it will be something like the black hole ammo in those siege catapult games. You have to beat the entire game to unlock it which is kinda hard. But it makes getting gold medals really easy once you get it.

So it turns out my code to check if players had enough credits was nonexistant (I forgot the credits >= bit of it) and I fixed a little bug with displaying the spectrum upgrades on the spread and rapid blaster. I also correctly hid the Special Ability stuff on the UI if the blaster is level 1 and therefore can't actually use it.
So a bit more progress, hopefully i'll be able to get some more done in the morning on my day off from work.

Holy moley, a new retro vaders!?!?! I'm so pumped!! I can't wait to see what stuff you'll add, and all the things you'll do. Will you be posting this on Kongregate? Also, are you thinking you might bring this to a mobile platform?

> *Originally posted by **[Shay9999](/forums/4/topics/696237?page=1#10997399)**:*
> Holy moley, a new retro vaders!?!?! I'm so pumped!! I can't wait to see what stuff you'll add, and all the things you'll do. Will you be posting this on Kongregate? Also, are you thinking you might bring this to a mobile platform?
It will definintely be coming to Kong, mobile is less likely as it doesn't translate well to a small screen size.
**Week #5 (Week Commencing 2901/2017) **
Well again my progress for last week was kinda pitiful but I did atleast fix a few bugs and get the "Purchase extra life" upgrade working. For the 3rd (!?) week in a row my weekly goal is to finish off the upgrades system, but since it's been dragging it's feet for so long i'm going to break it dow into bitesize chunks in that hope that I might be more motivated to finish a little chunk every now and again even on days i've been working.
Remaining Tasks:
* Graphics for the Rebound Shield Upgrade Screen and actual Upgrade Popup
* Graphics for the Recharge Shield Upgrade Screen and actual Upgrade Popup
* Code for buying Wide Shield Upgrades
* Code for buying Rebound Shield Upgrades
* Code for buying Recharge Shield Upgrades
Really hoping I can get it done this week because I badly want to move onto something else ore interesting. I think once this is done i'll have to build some more mission waves or starting coding up another boss fight just to keep myself interested in the project, because between Work and Skyrim Special Edition, my motivation to work on RV2 has been severely lacking these last few weeks.

> *Originally posted by **[nutter666](/forums/4/topics/696237?page=1#10998641)**:*
> because between Work and Skyrim Special Edition
Say no more, fam.
Edit: Wowza, almost all of my post didn't post. I guess that's what I get for reloading the page prior to posting it.
Anyways, it looks like you're hitting the same wall(s) that I usually hit when I'm working on a project. I really need to try out some smaller projects just so I feel a little better about working on a big one, appreciate it more and stuff.
I wish you the best of luck! Can't wait to see something playable.

> but since it's been dragging it's feet for so long i'm going to break it dow into bitesize chunks in that hope that I might be more motivated to finish a little chunk every now and again even on days i've been working.
That's one of the moments where you can watch people grow. :)
And to put this all into a more positive perspective:
You have worked for 5 weeks consecutively on a project which would otherwise lay dormant. And you did it despite all the circumstences that life threw at you. You even resisted GiTD. **That's** some willpower!
Cheers to nutter666!

> *Originally posted by **[Shay9999](/forums/4/topics/696237?page=1#10999713)**:*
> I wish you the best of luck! Can't wait to see something playable.
See the first post for the current gameplay demo :P Quite a lot is (semi) playable right now
EDIT - Progress!
* Rebound Shield Upgrade Screen and Upgrade Popup graphics all done. Added bonus I also decided what the final rebound shield upgrade will do.
* Added the upgrade effects for the Rebound Shields
* Improved the vfx for the Bounce Blaster's "Detonate" special ability so it more accurately shows the area of effect.

**Week #6 (Week Commencing: 5/02/20017)**
Finally! I finished the upgrades system, and i'm free to move onto something more interesting. I also discovered a very annoying oversight which was causing mission 5 to crash every time I tried to play it (but mysteriously without activating my default "backup" wave which should fill in when the wave manager fails) - Ultimately after much groaning, searching and life hating.. I found that i'd commented out a simple "return wave4Array" type line which was causing no waves of enemies to be sent at all, without triggering the default wave. A very annoyingly simple thing to fix after I figured out the source of the problem.
So recap of progress this week:
* Upgrades System is done - Upgrades can be bought with credits (once the tutorial missions are done, or immediately when debug mode is enabled)
* Rebound Shields finally got their final/major upgrade - The rebounded projectiles are "boosted" as they are rebounded, making them faster and more powerful.
* Extra Lives upgrade increases the number of lives a player has to complete each mission (up to a current max of 99, but I might cap that lower, depending on feedback)
* Mission 4 is now actually playable and has some waves to fight.
So what am I going to do this week?
Well I'm trying to decide if I want to make more of the story missions (so the player can properly progress all the way to the second boss on mission 10 at Mars since he's already coded and working) or if I want to do a fun task like coding up another of the (later) boss fight mechanics. I'm open to being persuaded either way so let me know what you think.
I'm also considering making the extra lives upgrade a consumable like in the original Retro Vaders, where you can stockpile extra lives (for a cheaper price than the current upgrade version) and they begin to be used one at a time after the initial 3 lives (per mission) are used up during a story mission. What do people think of that idea as opposed to more expensive permanent upgrades?
Option #1 - Create/Finish the next 4 Missions (6-10) which involves:
* Creating a new background image for each mission (where not appropriate to reuse one)
* Creating new sets of waves to fight during each mission
* Writing the Intro and Outro Text for each mission
* A bit of coding behind the scenes stuff to properly load into the correct mission once it has been created
Option #2 - Code the Terraforming Pod Miniboss for Mission 15
* Create the actual Visual Assets for the boss
* Coding it's weakspots and immunity spots
* Coding it's "attack" by spawning groups of diving Bomber Vaders
* Coding various VFX as it takes damage etc.
So check out the demo link below and try out the new stuff, then let me know which option I should pick for my next task(s)
Demo Link: http://www.fastswf.com/lGG647U

I'd say go for the option you like the most. Rewarding yourself is a great tool for long term success. And apparantely the last weeks weren't super fun to you. So it might be a good idea to celebrate yourself with something you enjoy. You clearly earned it.

> *Originally posted by **[Tulrog](/forums/4/topics/696237?page=1#11013921)**:*
> I'd say go for the option you like the most. Rewarding yourself is a great tool for long term success. And apparantely the last weeks weren't super fun to you. So it might be a good idea to celebrate yourself with something you enjoy. You clearly earned it.
The option I liked most turned out to be messing about with an idea for GiTD... so i've broken one of my rules... but it's like you say.. I was getting burnt out and this is a way to reward myself by taking a bit of a break from RV2, or atleast not devoting 100% of my coding time to it.
I did however get one new mission made for RV2, Mission 7 which introduces the first new type of Vader in the game (Spread Vaders) so there was atleast some progress.
**Week #7 (Week Commencing: 12/02/20017)**
Since im taking a break to work on GiTD #63 this week, i'm keeping the tasklist simple:
* Create Mission 6's Waves
* Create Backgrounds for Mission 6 & 7
The rest of my dev time will be spent on working on my GiTD entry.